Wirral Council’s leader has written to Home Office minister Angela Eagle calling for a review of the decision to house male asylum seekers in the former Holiday Inn hotel in Hoylake.
The move – which has not yet been enacted – was revealed last month by local councillors on their Facebook page.
It has led to demonstrations for and against immigration outside the site on King’s Gap, which is currently home to a number of asylum seeker families.
Councillor Paula Basnett has written to the Wallasey MP expressing concern that it was made “without meaningful consultation with the Council, local MPs, or the residents who will be directly affected”.
She added: “It fails to respect the stability and wellbeing of the families already here, and it disregards the views of the community that welcomed them, many of whom are distressed by the resulting protests and arrests taking place in their normally friendly and welcoming town.”
Cllr Basnett is calling for a review on community and planning grounds, writing that residents have “fears over safety, community stability and the displacement of families who have integrated successfully”, and the change represents “a fundamental shift in the use of the premises as a functioning hotel”.
The site has been used for its present purpose since 2020, and initially housed male asylum seekers before taking in families.
Local Conservative councillors have also written to Ms Eagle calling for the hotel to be “returned to its commercial public use as soon as possible”.
Wirral West MP, Labour’s Matthew Patrick, said he has been “engaging widely, including with our council leader and local councillors in Hoylake, and local community leaders, to understand the facts and discuss what this means for residents”, whilst also noting the government’s commitment to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029.
